Halloween Happenings

As Halloween looms near, the streets of Portales will soon see a flurry of activity as children set out to trick-or-treat and visit the various activities that will be offered.

Officials from the Portales City Hall are encouraging children to trick-or-treat from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, when extra city personnel will be on patrol throughout Portales to ensure that children will be safe.

The Portales Recreation Center will be hosting its annual Spooktacular event, said Johnny Ledbetter, Portales Recreation Center director. For the fifth year, the center will offer two haunted houses for the public to go through. The Barney tour will offer fun and candy for the smaller kids.

Full of gruesome and scary scenes, the nightmare tour will be open for those who are on the more adventurous side, according to Ledbetter.

“It should be a good one, it’s our major fundraiser of the year,” said Ledbetter.

A hay maze and outdoor movie are just some of the activities that will be offered at the Fall Festival hosted by Central Christian Church from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Other activities will include adult bingo, kids games and a prize store where the kids can redeem their tickets for prizes, said Joshua McVey, associate pastor. Each child will receive a bag of candy when they leave. During the movie, hot chocolate will be served and fire barrels will be provided for heat, said McVey.

“This will be a place for kids to have fun and parent’s too,” said McVey.
Bernallio Hall on the Eastern New Mexico University Campus, will once again host a haunted house, said Charlotte Sims, hall director. Activities will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and continue until 9:30 p.m. The haunted house will feature a Disney theme. Children will also be able to trick-or-treat on each floor, said Sims.

“We have multiple themes on each floor, and we will be keeping them PG rated,” said Sims.

Also on the ENMU campus will be a haunted house sponsored by the Kappa Psi fraternity. The Hollywood horrors-themed haunted house will begin at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night and continue until midnight, said Jesse Mathews, event coordinator. With close to 50 people working on it, the haunted house will utilize the entire music building, said Mathews.

Across town, the First Baptist church will also be offering games and candy at their outdoor Harvest Party, that will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Tuesday, in the church parking lot, according to church officials.
Heartland Continuing Care Center is inviting the community to visit the facility from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, to trick-or-treat, said Dawn Kryder, activities director. The residents and staff will be dressed in Halloween costumes and handing out candy to the children, said Kryder.

The North Plains Mall will also host Trunk or Treat from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Altrusa Club will be hosting a pumpkin patch in Dillard’s parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Three cans of food or non-perishable items will allow children to chose a pumpkin from the patch and a coloring book, said mall officials.